The Mule It Is A-Changin'
(To the tune of The Times They Are A-Changin')

Come prodigal poets
Take out a new pen
It’s time to start writing
And rhyming again.
Hey Brucefur and Camus,
Hey Keeper and Ben
Your readers are so disappointed.
We wish you’d start posting,
At least now and then
‘Cause the mule it is a-changin’.

I’m calling on JP,
On Christy and Blue
And Stephen and Lady
This goes for you too
The mule’s lacking something
You always would do
Give feedback with caring and candor
Our poets today think advice is taboo
‘Cause, the mule it is-changin’.

Now Ian and Marty,
They’re posting anew
And I’ve even seen Old Eyes
Drop a comment or two
While we sure need the newbies
To help see us through
Old-timers bring something we’re needing
So please reconsider rejoining the crew
‘Cause the mule it is a-changin’

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/10/2008 06:33PM by hpesoj.

Here, here, Joe I like your efforts in this poem(song).


Les

i miss them too, and i miss their detailed comments. am glad you could write this one because my meter/rhyme is poor. hope they hear you...(!)

what a nice poem! I read more then I write, but what an encouraging poem. I'm not one that's been around for a while, but the poem still made me smile. Nice job.

Les, Mitten, and MG:

Thanks. I'm glad it brought a smile.

Joe

This goes for you too
The mule’s lacking something
You always would do

Thanks Joe. I love the poem and the thought behind it. As much as I miss the absent people, and would love to see them back, I also feel guilty for not putting my whole self in "too".

From a newbie - This is great - a song old enough for me to sing along - perfect and the typical plea of a forum member missing long term comrades. Beautifully captured. Of course, now I have to do searches and see who they all are.

Linda

Good one Joe. I too miss the old days, but then I always miss the old days. Hope to spend more time at the mule, but being the first summer with our new camper, it may be sporadic. Please keep the home fires burning.

Marty

I like your poetry Joe ; Although I don't know the song. It is not unusual to miss people you don't even know especially when some people talk about the good deeds they have done. Yeah. whoever those poets are... come back to mule.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/18/2008 12:28PM by AngelsFear.

Les sent me this via email. He asked that I send it on to whosoever I may have an address. Sad to say the only ones I have are Mitts and Holly, and they are still active.
Well writ Joe.
And:

Sorta why I've dropped off. Other things became more fun. Still love Mitts and Holly, miss Jack, JP, etal. Remember, was it Al something? Ex cop. AJ seems to come to mind. Good guy. I even miss that commie Canadian,,(not Bruce) with whom I used to fight all the time... Jay I think his name was, or perhaps still is. Miss Lgreen, tried to call her last time I was in her home town and could not make contact. Had a wonderful dinner with her and her hubby one night about a hundred years ago.
Remember the Statler Bros song, "The Class of 57 Had It's Dreams" ?

Terry, the guy you're trying to identify is Anthony Corrente, lives somewhere near Joe I think. He wrote this one: [www.emule.com] />
The other Canadian, who was a great writer is Jay Mo. By the way, Bruce e-mailed me to say thanks for the invite, but he's working two jobs plus trying to keep Cosmic going.


Les

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/18/2008 02:04PM by les712.

Oh ok...I remembered he was some sort of Mo, couldn't remember exactly

Believe it or not, I had never heard this song:

The Class of '57 Had Its Dreams
--Stadler Brothers

Tommy's selling used cars, Nancy's fixing hair
Harvey runs a grocery store and Margaret doesn't care
Jerry drives a truck for Sears and Charlotte's on the make
And Paul sells life insurance and part time real estate

Helen is a hostess, Frank works at the mill
Janet teaches grade school and prob'ly always will
Bob works for the city and Jack's in lab research
And Peggy plays organ at the Presbyterian Church

And the class of '57 had its dreams
Oh We all thought we'd change the world with our great works and deeds
Or maybe we just thought the world would change to fit our needs
The class of '57 had dreams

Betty runs a trailer park, Jan sells Tupperware
Randy's on an insane ward and Mary's on welfare
Charlie took a job with Ford and Joe took Freddie's wife
Charlotte took a millionaire and Freddie took his life.

John is big in cattle, Ray is deep in debt
Where Marvis finally wound up is anybody's bet
Linda married Sonny, Brenda married me
And the class of all of us is just a part of history

And the class of '57 had its dreams
But living life day to day is never like it seems
Things get complicated when you get past eighteen
But the class of '57 had its dreams
Oh the class of '57 had dreams

Les

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/18/2008 03:37PM by les712.

Me neither....thanks Les

Khalida:

You have nothing to feel guilty about. You are one of the most consistent people here, both with your poetry and your always considerate comments.

Linda:

I'm glad you found this place. Keep posting, please, so that one day you will become one of the old-timers.

Marty:

We'll keep a light on for you. Enjoy the camping and all that goes with it.

AF:

Thanks for reading and commenting. Keep writing.

Merc:

I think I enjoyed your one-on-ones as much as anything around here over the years. Many good discussions...most of them friendly and sincere, though opinions may have differed. That's one of the good things about this place. Thanks for the comments.

Les:

You are one of the true stalwarts around here. Glad I didn't have to include your name among the missing. Thanks for tracking down Cowboy and Bruce. Hopefully some of the others will drift back, even if it's only for a brief visit.

Joe

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 06/19/2008 06:12AM by hpesoj.

Howdy all,

Terry, Les is indeed correct; it is Anthony Corrente and he lives in New Jersey. Now running security details as pertains to anti terrorism on the oil rigs after leaving his job as security manager at a large NJ hospital where the long hours were killing him. I have his email, so I'll send on the buzz. I was prepared for it, so when Les sent this to me I also forwarded it to myself at the address where I have more of your names. I forwarded it to Skye in the hopes that she can pass it onto her mum, and have also thrown it Christy's way.

I phoned Lady of the Night the other day... turns out she has two pretty good poems that she has been sitting on and not posting anywhere. tsk tsk... She HAS promised to come around here and cosmic and put them up, but we'll have to see.

For myself, I never really left. Just been extremely busy in politics, trying (in vain perhaps) to keep Canada a democracy. Closed my security business in February due to the gestapo direction the industry is taking. Wrote a 5 page rant to the Solicitor General detailing the problems with the new Security Services Act. Changed my mind in April and reopened my doors; after all, if people like me don't fight to keep security from becoming Rent A Cops, when we know the business and can find our way around it, who else will? Still, it has continued to be a source of frustration and is certainly no longer a labour of love. I am also moving in other directions business-wise. I am starting a company called Cottonwood Fuel Technologies and am researching ways to create non fossil fuels that don't use food crops and am also experimenting with making a new, non toxic asphalt. I am almost at the point now where I can bring others on board. In two weeks time I should have the first prototype of a Brown's gas generator hooked up to my Mobile Unit. It creates hydrogen gas, as needed, straight from a tank of water and runs off of your car's electrical system. I plan on combining it with non food ethanol and non synthetic turpentine to give it more oomph than with just Hydrogen alone. It should all be past the initial test phase by September of this year. Speaking of Terry's communism lol... I once had an Ethiopian refugee to Canada say that he liked it here, but found us too communist. At the time I didn't understand what he meant, but do now. He was referring to how over regulated everything is here... and HE'S right! So there is a good chance I'll be marketing my product in Mexico, India and China long before I bother to waste my time working through the red tape here. It is what is killing North America.

I'll try and be around more.

Thanks Joe for the acknowledgement. I do miss it here.
Brucefur

Bruce:

Always good to hear from you. Your presence here pre-dates mine and your early yeoman-like work on the site is one of the things that kept me coming back for the past six years. Thanks for passing the word.

Joe

For those unfamiliar with the melody:

[www.youtube.com]

I have to poop!

No comment.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/22/2008 01:50PM by hpesoj.

disgusting!

Bruce, I used to work for a security company, called Black Water, (Peter doesn't like us, but that looks good on our resume) I may not be around so much any more. Sort of lost interest in everything except raisin' Messican cows, and fightin' US fires.

Joe,
Les forwarded your poem, so I came looking. I still drop by occasionally, but don't write much anymore. I often think about you all, and miss the old days. We have some good new poets, but hardly anything that rhymes, and I just don't feel competent to comment on free verse, for me there's no music in it. Remember the Australian poet that used to post, reminded me of Banjo Patterson. He's gone too.

Love to you all,

JP

I'm glad Ilza, the brilliant Brazilian, is still around. Though she posts mostly in the other three forums. In which I wish Hugh and Desi and MarianNYC and Chesil and some of my fellow Aussies would still look in occasionally.

Ian

JP:

I'm right up there with you riding on the rhyme and meter bandwagon. You need to start giving your muse a harder time, I think. Tell her to get going with the inspiration. We need some of your music around here. Glad you're still dropping by; hope to see you posting a poem or two real soon.

Ian:

I actually though it was you or Vic Jefferies who wrote the Banjo-like poems. I had forgotten about Ilza since I don't visit the other forums all that often. I agree with you on Hugh, Chesil, Marian222, and Desi. They were always insightful and entertaining. Maybe, some day.....

Joe

Hey Terry,

Got this as part of a reply from Anthony and thought rather than paraphrasing it I would just paste it here:

"As for E-mule; I've been gone from the site so long, I am no longer active. I tried to register and re-register; but have gotten no response from the site. It won't let me post. It advised that they would send a login to my e-mail but that hasn't happened yet. No big deal. I was hoping to leave a post for Terry. If you have any contact, tell him I send my best regards and I think good thoughts for him when I see the wild fires. Not sure if he is still battling them, but he was last I was on site.
Keep in touch, it was great hearing from you and stay safe!!!
Anthony"

I want to be doing more poetry, but it just isn't there right now. It'll come a knocking at some point, most likely over this next month. Road trips always give me inspiration. I think that an awful lot of it for me right now is that I am writing too much non fiction; letters to government, articles on the threat to national and international security that declining Western populations are posing with China on our doorstep and trying to write that online book, "Paving the way to reason," about how to better design city roads. In my mind we took a wrong turn there when we stopped seeing roads as something primarily for driving on, but that is a long story, which is why I am writing it out and putting it online for all to see. It is comprehensive, dealing with road design, propaganda about speeding, leniency with impaired drivers, but also with how short cuts are being made in vehicular design which impact our safety too. I hope to have it finished in the next 3 months or so and maybe then the poetry will come back.

JP,

If you write it, maybe they will come? Meaning Ell, Kelly M, etc... I write free verse, but I most appreciate a well written rhyme, because I know it is beyond my ability to write like that.

Love to you all.
Brucefur

This was sent to me today by Christy:

"I know you must think Ive fallen off the planet...but I went back to work! still trying to remember how to fit my life in along side my job....lol...hope all is well, loved the poem so much, and tell all those mulers I said hello...and syn, of course! luff ya, christy"

Well hellooooo there everybody. Yes it's me, Stephen (NB Not Steven) Fryer, Yorkshireman, grandfather, Guide Dog puppywalker, and now - six years down the line - graduate.

Like many, I fell off the site when it pushed me off and I couldn't work out how to climb back on. But anyway I was so busy studying it suited me to cool it.

But here I am, rarin' to stomp on the poets who think it is clever to use the f-word. And maybe hand out some constructive criticism.

Studying literature alongside writing shrivelled my creative testicles but I will try and write something soon.

Nice to be back.

Stephen Fryer BA (Hons)

Stephen:

I fixed my mistake. I am terrible with names...sorry about the faux pas. Oops there's an F word , and a French one at that. At any rate, congrats on the degree and I'll look forward to your testicles returning to their former size...poetically and creatively, of course.

Joe

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/10/2008 06:39PM by hpesoj.

I used the word Fuji, but not in a cleverly sense

But hey, you're "Mister" F, so I guess you know what you're talking about

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/11/2008 12:16AM by JohnnyBoy.

Another from the old days who is sadly missed from Emule is Northcountrywoman. Everything she posted was quality.

Ian

...Northcountrywoman. Everything she posted was quality.

Indeed, it was.

i have seen anything new from brucefur in a while, where did he go?

I will third that on northcountrywoman, quality.

Peter

I believe this Is well written. However the Mule may have scared some away seeing as how It keeps being hacked. You can't access the Mule from any actual website. We are just here In the world of the Internet via Google search/Yahoo or whatever choice you may have.


However I enjoy reading what you had to say and thought It was well said. Thanks for sharing.

You can't access the Mule from any actual website.

Not true, Nolon, bookmark the following: [www.emule.com] />

Les

Ahem yes If you bookmark or If you know how to obtain that address. You can't just pull emule dot com as once was now you have to google emule poetry or whatever. I'm just saying.

Nolon, how did you find e-mule in the first place. Most of us went here: [www.google.com] />

Les

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/20/2008 01:16AM by les712.

Well I'm from back when Emule was Emule. To be honest Les I can't recall how I found Emule. It was back In 2001 ? 2002 ? I can't even recall the year. I know used to you could just go to Emule.com and as years passed their newer pet project has taken over the poetic mule

their newer pet project has taken over the poetic mule

They've had new owners since the first of this year, but that has nothing to do with being able to find them on the internet. I typed in e-mule poetry on Google and got this: [www.google.com] />

Just because YOU can't find them, doesn't mean they can't be found.


Les

Les You're not getting the point. I know they can be found via search engine. I'm not denying that. I stated that. I'm saying It's just not the same area. However It Is still nice to see the same ol'users here and as well new users.

You're right Nolon, I certainly don't get this point:

I'm saying It's just not the same area

Google "poetry""e-mule" what other area would you use to find them on the internet?

Should you ever get lost again try this: [www.google.com] />

Les

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/20/2008 02:12AM by les712.

Nolon:

Thanks for the kind words. Good to see you dropping by again.

Les:

It's not that important, really, how one accesses the mule. What is important is that they do it.

Joe

Dear Quasi-cousin Joe:

Please note that it is to be assumed that any comment you make will be answered by me with "What do you know about (forks, punctuation, etc.)? You're from goddamn New Jersey"

Just so I don't have to write it every time.

Duly noted.

It's a quote from Apocalypse Now, in case anyone was wondering

I knew that.

I knew YOU knew that, I meant it for those who might be confused by a line from a 30 year-old film

I was confused then.

Too.

Didn 't see Apocalypse Now nor any other time. Watched the stage play from two or three different seats. Never saw anything remotly like that one, 'cept for "don't lead 'em as much" So, I did not recoginize the quote, but did catch the baseball part.

I got to the mule huntin' up Mr. Atkins by Rudy Kipling back in ought one. Saw some stuff by JP, a neat one by Kellygirl and tried it myownselfie. Been on the edge of the firelight ever since.

Not near as much fun as it was then. As JP said, nothing rhymes anymore.

Not near as much fun as it was then

I think the youths who were here then made it more fun. Ironically enough, practically none of their poetry rhymed.


Les

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/25/2008 11:14AM by les712.

On Sept 6, 2003 I posted a short note I titled "Randolph Scott Syndrome" in reference to another Statler Bros. song, "What Ever Happened to Randolph Scott". I asked then about Silent Siren, and a couple of others. We've not been thinning out, but have had a crew change since I first saw the light of day here.
We ruled the mule for a while, now the others have it.
Maybe it's time.

Another factor in the decline of the mule is certainly the unreliability of the connections. There have been months at a time when no one could log on.

An incomplete list of the missing:

Lady of the Night
Silent Siren
JP
Sargirl
Jazzy
Kellygirl
Albert Meyburgh
Clifford
David Madison
Jay
Skye
Izzy
Thorn
Genevieve Vincent
E.J. Lewis
Synn
Jack
Hugh Clary
Marian N.Y.C.
Lizzy
Sarah Anne
Althea
M.P.
Big Poppa
Victoria
Shane
Christy
J.H. Summers
Desire
Anwaar Hassan
Gwydion
Anthony Corrente
SilkFever
Brandi
truthseeker
Angelia (Keeper)
Aaron
Steve Espinosa
Wicked
Wesley Brown
SeaCowles
Benjamin
illidiumphosdex
John Poff
Cad
Talia
Trent
Ragamuffin
The Shah of Blah

9Dreamer

Maizie
Debutante
Appgrrl
Kendra
dreambabe
Ben
Brittany
Tempest
Jenna Lee
E.J. Lewis
Northcountrywoman
Satine
Althea
Russ
Vic Jefferies
Stasia
Lost in Forever
lbgirl
W.Wizard
hutto
meriti
Chesil
DiffidentAlchemist
Matt Millbauer
Sasha
BloodThorn
dije_03461
Broken Silence
Frosty
Matthew
Lennon
Martina
Dan Argent
Tulach
Celeste
Seshendrasharma
Stevie
Fink
Ebon Lupus
floater
Lloyd
Satirical
Belle
Isabella
Shadow's Breath
Zack
Adrielle
naked lady
Tim Smith
Select Samaritan
Martina
soma
Veronika
Synn
decat
flo
Satine
The Rambler
Ceasar
Drew
Gene
Fabio
gypsie 35
LisaF
lanaia74
Blynd-I
lifeisbutadream
Garrett
Shanil
mg
marflow
cheron
liquid
dawlypaul
fabsab
Steevo
samitir
PureKitty5
sl
underdog
A.Snow

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/31/2008 03:02AM by les712.

You old bastards spinning circles again? Hmm, come to think of it the place is pretty dead. How very odd. We could always transplant the remaining residents, find ourselves a new home? Not as if we couldn't just as easily return.

My preference would be for everyone one the mule to post three poems a day for each of the next sixty days.

Oh, you wouldn't want THAT.......not from me anyways

Ya, we don't all possess the ability to turn out an endless quantity of poetry such as yourself peter. I simply couldn't keep up with that demand. Either way, I have no intention of giving up on the mule until she is long dead and buried.

Anyway, I was looking around for another forum at least similar and prospects are not good. I think there was one or two website of promise but they were convoluted, though I'm sure they have enough subforums for us to stake one out as our own.. Unfortunately they ALL possess the endless spam, advertisements, unnecessary links, and other crap so prevalent on the net these days. Sigh.

plus which, if you look over that list, you'll see there's very few assholes, and even some of those that started as assholes got better

There is a simple solution, should things really collapse.

Just create another forum using the same software, a home from home:

[www.phorum.org] />
I could knock that up in a couple of days,(well a couple of weeks) we'd just need a new domain name, and I'd ask for a few quid to cover costs? I'd use an excellent host, and cover any potential crashes etc. Of course I wouldn't have time to moderate, or indeed maintain, nor would I want to, that would need to be delegated.

Of course all the old stuff would be lost! Unless there was a way of migrating it over of course.

Just an option.

I'd be for that

I've become so comfortable with my poverty that the idea, even the suggestion, of me having money for anything causes me to laugh.

As to the forum, ya, could always shift it. We handle the naming right, do some google bombing, and we could increase the flow of users. As to the content, we'd prolly just have to all make copies of our own shit.

My suggestion was a hoot. However, like they say, on a more serious note, I see no reason to migrate to a less amenable forum...most of the others seem to be run by literary nazis of one sort or another. No one on this forum tells me how often I have to comment on other's work, or when I can post a poem, or what quality my poems have to be, etc. I love you all, well almost all, or almost love, whichever comes first. I don't think one or two bad voices can't be ignored when necessary. And if everyone also has another life beyond the internet, I say viva life!

Peter

When I wrote this, I had no idea that it would generate such a response, or that so many others shared my affection and admiration for this place and for those who contribute to it. This forum really is special and unlike any other that I've found on the web. As one of the "old bastards," I sometimes wish the discussions were as lively as they were a few years back. But Emule is still better today than anything else and, perhaps, things will pick up again. Even if they don't, I still intend to stick around until one of us (Emule or I) goes belly up.

"In short, there's simply not a more congenial spot...."

Joe

Amen, Joe.

Hey les,
I Work 10 hours a day (commute included), come home work another 2 hours, on Saturday and Sunday I run sound for church, and my little brother, 6 ft and 80 pounds heavier than I, thinks he own my computer. But I've never been listed as MIA before. So, if you'd kindly, scratch, chip, or just blow (as in TNT) my name off that wall, I'll see what can be done.

-INK GHOST-

Night Into the darkness and the hush of night slowly the landscape sinks, and fades away, and with it the phantoms of the day, the ghosts of men and things, that haunt the light. -Longfellow

Way to go Ink. Thanks for the input. It's really difficult to know who has just one identity and who has changed their identity throughout the years. I'll scratch your name off the wall.

Les

It has been nearly five years since I posted this. Peter, Les, and Frosty are the only poets who still visit with any regularity. As much as I miss the old "mule" I must force myself to admit that Tennyson had a valid point when he wrote:

“The old order changeth, yielding place to new,
And God fulfils himself in many ways,
Lest one good custom should corrupt the world."

When you come to this site, a warning message still comes up that this site is risky with potentially harmful activity. Why is that? The bigger question is why did I still proceed? lol.

I, for one, am happy that you did proceed.

Joe

yes, indeed.

There you are, Peter. I get worried when you go on hiatus.

This one made me smile, thanks for bumping it Joe.

Les

for what it's worth, I'm sticking around. Why go elsewhere? Or go there and stay here too.

the more people we interact with for our writing, the more we can learn about our writing.

Hey, I'm glad you posted this. I found my way back. I didn't know the old mule was up again. Last time I looked some Russians had taken it over.
It's on.....
hollygolightly/aka mrssharris/aka hrfarris

We'd be so happy to see recent poems from you, holly. You have always been such a gem.

amo et avanti,

Peter

What Peter said.

Joe